Past the Horizon
by Zestylicous
Summary: Sakura feels out of place in Konoha once Sasuke and his team, Hawk, returns. Hoping to escape everything, she leaves and heads east. An unexpected encounter sends her fleeing into the one place no one would follow, the sea. Naruto/Inuyasha crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**This is only a prologue. It's supposed to be however long I want it…so it turned out short. It's in my nature I guess… **

_Sakura knew what the ocean sounded like. There was the time, in the land of the waves, her first C mission with her team, that she had heard the sound. They had lapped against the small rowboat, a rhythmic and soothing sound. It was endless and it had placed a sense of security in her frightened twelve-year-old mind. But it was nothing compared to this._

_The waves were quieter, not hitting against something, they could only rush against one another, a soothing sliding sound. This was true endlessness. Nothing could break through that sound. It filled Sakura to the brim and instilled a sense of peace as it once had so long ago. _

_She never told anyone, but Sakura loved the ocean. More than anything. Sure, whenever they were on a mission close to the ocean she had complained about the smell and the sand getting everywhere…but… no matter what she said, the ocean, to her, was a home away from home. _

_So in a place where only the sound of waves existed Sakura felt more at peace than she had felt in a long time. Before he had come back and ruined everything. Before Sakura finally realized how weak she was. Before being bullied and degraded by a rabble of five year olds. And even more so than when she had first met Ino, when Sasuke had thanked her, when Naruto was trying his best to cheer her up with a goofy grin. This was somewhere safe and guarded from everything. _

_She was home._

**I will update soon, I won't keep it at…three hundred some words for long. I'm not that horrible.**

**I think….**

**Zesty **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, it took a long time to get this update out. And it's **_**tinny**_**. Sorry, they'll get bigger as more things begin to happen. **

**Reveiws**

**Miss Chocolat: I'm sorry, I kept it at 300 for so long… you better get me now cause even I think I suck. Thanks for the not complaining thing (and I am working on another update for GG)**

**Tenshi-Koi: You are welcome for the Inuyasha cross over (I can never find good ones) Thanks for reviewing!**

Sakura slipped in and out of a sleep as she drifted through the water, her chakra automatically keeping her head above water level and keeping the water from bloating her system. It even encased her in a warm green glow whenever danger was near or the temperature outside was too cold or hot. Her years as medical ninja was paying off in a way Sakura never would have thought.

But her mind wasn't on the miracle of her automatic chakra or on her shaky situation floating, lost at sea. She was dreaming. Dreaming about what had led her to this sea, beyond anything she had ever known. It had started with a messenger hawk.

_As it flew directly to the Hokage tower, anyone who looked up and knew it for what it was, saw that there was no identifying symbol around it's torso, only a bare, brown cloth. Attached to its rough leg was a small, cylindrical container. _

"_Tsunade." The longhaired woman looked up at the sound of her name. She had been wallowing in her paperwork, one cheek pressed against a mission report, and her hand itching to slide her drawer open and take a long swig of her sake bottle. _

_Sakura repeated herself, "Tsunade, there is a messenger hawk outside of the window. It must have not reached the message tower and came here instead. It has no markings…" the sixteen year old frowned but knew that unmarked hawks weren't too rare. Villages used them when they knew that their hawk would be flying through enemy territory. This had to be one of those cases. _

_Tsunade glanced behind her to see the hawk patiently waiting outside the glass, flapping its wings slowly, "Do you sense anything?" Sakura shook her head. "Neither do I. Let it in already."_

_Sakura nodded and swiftly rose from her position on the floor, surrounded by scrolls and paperwork. In one smooth move, she unlatched a side window and pushed it open, the hawk flying in and landed gracefully on Tsunade's desk. It lifted one foot so Tsunade could remove the note. _

"…_." Tsunade was silent as she scanned the paper. _

"_What? Is it in code?" Sakura questioned after a drawn out pause._

_Tsunade's eyes flicked to Sakura's face, her own filled with surprise and a trace of pity._

"_Sakura…Sasuke is…coming back."_

_Sakura froze, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open from shock._

There was something…something on the horizon; land. It was rugged and bathed in a mist but if Sakura was conscious she would have seen the tops of trees and realized that she had never seen this coastline. It drawing closer and her body was slowly being drawn towards it by the waves. She was a couple yards when a wave lifted her up and sent her tumbling into the dark water. When she inhaled a mouthful of liquid she had been forced into consciousness, gagging, hacking, and trying to force her way to the surface.

She was disorientated and soaked to the bone. The last thing she remembered was seeing red clouds and Naruto's distraught face, his mouth opened in yell. Then a splash and nothing…. Thinking about it made her head spin.

She waded to the shore of the beach, coughing out the water in her lungs and stumbling when her weak legs gave out against a strong current. Finally, Sakura collapsed on her knees in the sand, spitting out the sharp taste of salt water. Now free to breathe, she took huge gulps of air, waves tickling her feet. Her head was pounding. It felt like the worst hangover she had ever experienced, nausea included. Sakura's muscles gave out and she managed to turn as she fell to lie on her back. Where was she?

"_Are you sure that you're fine?" Naruto's worried face peered into hers, "Sakura-chan?" _

"_I'm fine, Naruto, you worry too much." And Sakura really was okay with it…now. The night after they received the messenger bird was when she let loose all her anger…and sadness. After being cried out (which didn't take very long) and with aching muscles (there was no longer a forest around her house), there was nothing left in Sakura but a slight twinge of happiness and a sort of detachment. She was fine. _

_Naruto smiled at the answer and looked to one side, studying the large gate out of Konoha. _

"_I never thought he would enter these gates again. After we got the news that he joined Akatsuki (A/C: I almost spelled that Atatsucki) I had almost given up on seeing Sasuke as our comrade again. But now…" Naruto grinned full force, "I'm gonna kick his ass until even the thought of leaving us again is pounded out of his head!"_

_Sakura smiled at him and slowly reached out to grip his hand, "We'll face him together." Naruto stared wide-eyed at their intertwined hands, a light blush coating his cheeks and Sakura continued, "But…remember…he already has another team. He won't leave them just to join the already crowded team seven." _

_Naruto nodded absently, still staring at their hands. Sakura held back a sigh; so much for her progress in slowly detaching herself from Naruto and getting him and Hinata to date. She gripped his hand tighter. But she would need Naruto's strength now to remain standing. _

"_Sak-"_

"_There he is." Sakura interrupted, tilting her head forward at the dark shapes on the road, "Kakashi would've killed to see this day in person." _

_Naruto nodded slowly, "Given up Icha Icha."_

"_Don't exaggerate Naruto." Sakura chided, grinning, controlling her emotions as the four shapes drew closer. She could make them out clearly now. _

_Sasuke's teammates, Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu. Karin was a red head, glasses, dressed in barely anything and her hair was cut in an odd way, one side short and spiky and the other long. The look on her face when she looked at Sasuke was nostalgic of the looks Sakura used to give him. Juugo was large with brown hair and a bland face. He looked pretty gentle but from the reports he was prone to losing control. Suigetsu was pretty cute for a missing nin, with his white hair and yellow eyes -not that missing nins weren't cute- (Itachi was proof of that), and he reminded her of a Kiba and Shikamaru mix, just the way he held himself. The overlarge sword on his back brought back memories, bad or good, Sakura wasn't sure. _

"_Here he comes." Naruto said, grinning from elation. _

_Sakura smiled thinly and braced herself for the meeting she had been hoping for, ever since he had left her crying on that damn bench. She was hoping for this, wasn't she? _

"_Naruto." He said, no 'Sakura', no 'glad to see you', only Naruto. _

"_Sasuke-teme, it's nice to see you back." Naruto smiled, obviously trying to hold his emotions in check. Naruto had matured._

"_You must be Karin-san, Juugo-san, and Suigetsu-san, members of team 'Hawk'. It's a pleasure to meet you finally." Sakura greeted politely, entirely ignoring her former teammate. _

_Karin grunted in response, sizing her up and Juugo let out a 'nice to meet you'. Suigetsu grinned devilishly, "You're Haruno, Sakura, right? Sasuke only told us that you were a former teammate, he talked about Naruto mostly. Which were what, three sentences? As you probably know, Sasuke isn't one to interact with others." _

_Sakura nodded in agreement; hiding her hurt that Sasuke hadn't remembered her enough to even mention something besides her name._

"_So Sasuke-teme are you going to stay here for real or are you going to leave again?" Naruto teased, not so playfully punching Sasuke in the arm. _

"_I have no other choice but to remain in alliance with Konoha; team Hawk will be made to sign a chakra binding scroll." Sasuke answered blandly, "We can catch up later, I have to meet up with Tsunade." _

_Naruto frowned as Sasuke began to walk away, "I'm coming with!" he ran to catch up. _

_Sasuke's team went to follow when Sasuke said, "Stay with Sakura-san, I'll meet up with you later." _

"_But Sasuke-kun!" Karin whined, stomping her foot, "I want to stay with you!" _

_Sasuke ignored her, walking away with Naruto at his side. _

"_He's always ordering us around." Suigetsu growled. _

_Karin turned to him, fuming, "Don't go against Sasuke-kun!"_

_Sakura hid a warm smile at their antics, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you around Konoha."_

_Karin turned her anger to her, "Hey, Haruno, is your hair color even real? Or do you dye it like some fake bitch. Don't think Sasuke-kun will notice you because of it; it'll only disgust him."_

"_Karin shut up, you're the bitch here." Suigetsu growled, walking forward, Juugo following close behind. He was suddenly sent flying with a kick to the back. Sakura, reacting on instinct, moved to catch him before he flew into the crowded market street (who, as the gossip mongers as they were, were watching the scene closely), gently setting him back on his feet._

"_You okay?" She asked, answered by an annoyed nod, "And you, Karin, I can't fight you right now because the situation is tense, but if you piss me off again later I won't hesitate to smash your face in. And, yes, my hair color is natural." Sakura turned her back, walking into the crowd, "Follow me."_

_Suigetsu grinned at the raging Karin, "I like her, don't you?"_

"_Shut up!" Suigetsu avoided a punch as Juugo calmly walked past to follow Sakura. _

It was so cold. It had taken awhile for Sakura to fall out of her doze and to realize that she was completely numb. Shivering, Sakura pushed herself to her feet, swaying unsteadily. She blinked to clear her vision and took a couple of steps forward, her feet shuffling in the now dry sand. She was lucky in the fact that she had literally washed up to the shore at high tide. Now the edge of the water was yards down the beach.

As her sight cleared, Sakura was able to see that the beach was bathed in a new moon's light and not to far from where she stood was a forest. Even in her slightly delusional state Sakura recognized that none of her surroundings looked familiar. Even the plants looked foreign. As yet another shiver ran through her frame Sakura began to run chakra through her pathways to create friction and warmth. Steam began to rise from her damp clothes and hair as Sakura tried to get her bearings.

North…was…up the beach, south, down, east into the forest, west the ocean. Sakura always had a good grip on her directions. Even in the dark she was able to sense which way North was. Now…which way to go…the beach offered no options, so into the forest it was. Besides, Sakura realized as her stomach let out a ravenous growl, she could find some food.

Testing out her weak muscles, Sakura took a hesitant jump, smiling triumphantly when she realized they could handle the run…er…jumps. Without a further pause, Sakura took off into the trees, spreading her senses to see if she could find anyone near.

…There, a ways in and to the right was a small cluster of undeveloped chakra points, a village or a family farm maybe. Sakura almost stumbled in her next jump when she sensed something or several somethings pass above her head. What the… She jumped to the top of the tree and sailed into the air to get a better look. They were…birds, or snakes actually. They swam through the air like they did but no snake could fly in the air like that. A summons maybe? No, there was too many, no one could summon hundreds of birds like that. And in the middle of the procession was a woman perched on a large, flying feather. Sakura fell back to the trees just as the snakes noticed her and turned toward her with an animalist cry.

Sakura soundlessly landed on a branch just when she sensed a few of the snakes come flying after her. She swore and slid to the underside of the branch, crouched and pressed up against the truck of the tree. Just as the snakes burst through the treetop, Sakura suppressed her chakra until it was non-existent and stopped her breathing, becoming as still as the tree she was hanging from.

As a minute passed and the only sound Sakura could hear was heavy breathing and the growls of the demonic snakes.

Then a voice, a woman's, sounded out, "It was nothing, probably Naraku just checking up on me, as always damn him."

Then there was a rustle of movement and Sakura knew that the snakes had moved on. She waited for a solid amount of time before dropping from the tree branch, landing smoothly on the ground.

"Naraku?" Sakura voiced, frowning.

She shrugged, thinking that it wasn't her problem, and continued on, following a ways behind the cluster of snakes. Little did Sakura know that that would not be her last encounter with the name 'Naraku'.

**Not much of an update…as I said, but it lays some groundwork for the story. **

**And expect more flashback things in the next update. And I'm not totally abandoning the Naruto world; after all, they are in a world of 'pain' right now (Ah! Pun! I hate puns!)**

**Oh, and I'm not really sure if Kakashi is dead or what cause in the recent updates he was only labeled as 'stolen', not dead…so…**

**Zesty**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, well, after a lot of consideration, I changed a tiny bit of the previous chapters. Reread them if you want. The changes weren't really all that big but they were to me. If that makes sense… And this is about half way through the manga. I'm pretty sure I'll follow it completely to the end but I may change my mind. And I'm keeping the language between Naruto's world and Inuyahsa's world the same; it's so much easier. **

**Reviews**

**Sakura is number 1: Thank you!!**

**Enchantress10: Thanks, she's on an island, next to the world of Naruto. My idea was that the Naruto world looked kind of like China and Next to it is Japan, where Inuyasha takes place. Kakashi is not dieing. At all, I just thought he as at the time that I was writing that part. And the Kakashi/Inu idea is a good one. Maybe I'll put it in my story somewhere… hmm. Thanks for the feedback!**

**Tenshi-Koi: Thank you. I agree with you on Sasuke. Sorry about the late update. **

**Miss Chocolate: Ahaha, thank you; I am great! No suckiness whatsoever!! (Ah… that actually lifted my confidence a bit). Yep Sakura got thrown in the ocean, very, very far. Karin will most likely get hurt, probably a lot. It was Kagura. I was a little undeiced about who the woman would be but I've changed chapter one to the point you can realize that. Sorry for the wait!!**

**NinjaFoodLover: Thank you so much. O.o I hope you get those socks out of your mouth…. Yep, Naruto is coming after her. She won't hate Inuyasha and in this chapter you'll see who she meets up with first. Hmm, I might have here start to travel with Kikyo because your ideas where good ones…. Hm….**

**Yuchi: I'm sorry, I didn't update very fast. **

**Shadow-binder: Thanks, I will.**

Sakura slunk through the long grass, the strands brushing across her skin. She unfolded a leg and it whispered past the grass, barely ruffling the tops as if she was merely a breath of wind. The reason she was sneaking around like this was because she had felt a powerful aura, dangerous and uncontrolled, similar to the feeling she got from Gaara before his one tailed demon had been removed but somehow different at the same time. Even in her half exhausted state she had to investigate. She wouldn't admit that maybe she was hoping to see the familiar form of her blond teammate, even as she was running from him.

Reaching the edge of the tall grass, she peered out and saw the form to match to that dangerous aura. It was a man, a tall and clothed in odd white clothing, pillowing out at the legs, and armor. The most striking feature was the white fur wrapped around his right shoulder, so large it almost reached the top of his head. Long white hair blew in the wind as he turned slightly at the sound Sakura had just picked up on.

"Se…sesshoumaru-samaa!" It was a small shape, also dressed in a Kimono scaled down to fit his small frame. Above his head was an odd staff, several times his height. On his bug eyed, lizard-like face was a panicked look. "Rin has… been taken away!"

With his head turned, Sakura could see that on Sesshoumaru's face were markings like the ones Kiba had except horizontal and three on each cheek. On his forehead was a tattoo of the shape of the crescent moon and at his side were two swords. Then she blinked, noticing movement beyond the pair before her.

The lizard man continued, "That woman called Kagura, who's an offspring of Naraku, suddenly appeared and…"

Then the figure Sakura had seen earlier spoke, interrupting dramatically, "Do not worry Sesshoumaru-sama." The figure was dressed in what looked like a white fur robe that covered him completely and with an odd animal mask over his face. Around his head were large buzzing bees, acting somewhat like guards. "If you would satisfy my request… the girl called Rin will be safely returned."

"Y-you Naraku…" The small being stuttered out, furious. Only a few yards away, Sakura frowned. This was beginning to look like a hostage situation and the tension was only increasing with the second. But why was this 'Naraku' there in person to ask for a ransom? The man was an idiot.

Sesshoumaru didn't react, "Naraku… huh. What are you planning this time?"

Naraku seemed to grin under the mask, "It's nothing special. Just killing Inuyasha would be fine."

"Humph, just for that, you went to all that trouble." Sesshoumaru responded, then, with his bare hands ripped through Naraku's head.

Sakura's eyes widened then filled with confusion. There was no blood… only a white fur robe, mask, and a little wooden figure. It was a genjutsu, or something similar. But no, she had sensed no chakra being used; perhaps it was only a puppet?

"Th… this is…" said the little man, "Kugutsu…."

"He thought that I, Sesshoumaru, for the sake of only a single human girl, would do exactly as he said, huh." Said Sesshoumaru, gazing down at the rubble of what was once Naraku.

"Then Sesshoumaru-sama, you're abandoning Rin…?"

Sakura stiffened as Sesshoumaru made his way soundlessly to where she crouched among the tall grass.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Where are you going?" The little reptile yelled out.

As he drew closer, Sakura backed away quickly then turned fully and leapt away. Or tried to anyway, before she could get any distance between them, she felt him move and was forced to fall to the ground to dodge the blow. Placing her hands on the ground to brace herself, she kicked upwards, hitting nothing as Sesshoumaru dodged. She blinked at his speed and jumped up; she hadn't even seen him move.

"Ah a human girl!" The little man yelled upon seeing her.

For a moment Sakura just stared into Sesshoumaru's cold, orange eyes (what an odd color), trying to judge how far he would go to kill her. He stared back at her emotionlessly, putting a hand on one of the two swords at his hip. Then the moment passed and she turned her back on him and jumped into the trees, using her chakra to enhance her speed. He didn't follow and Sakura was able to release the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding. She frowned back at the direction she had come from and turned to head to that farm she had sensed earlier.

It took less time than she thought to reach the cultivated fields and the small humble house of a farmer. Sakura sat in a tree on the edge of the forest trying to choose between knocking on the door and chancing the owner's wrath or to just steal a cabbage or two for her dinner. In the end, shivering with the cold, she gathered her courage and let herself fall from the tree, walking slowly up to the door. When she knocked, two sharp raps, there was a pause and then a middle aged man opened the door a crack and peered through at her. Sakura winced as the light from inside hit her eyes, then, remembering her manners, smiled and shielded her eyes against the light of the fire to see him better.

"Hello, my name is Haruno, Sakura, and I'm sorry to bother you at this time of night but I am in need of food and shelter. I have no money to pay you but I am a healer and can heal any illness or injury." She had exaggerated her power a bit; no healer could cure everything but she felt that she needed to lay it on thick to convince this weary farmer to let her into his house.

He frowned down at her, "There are not many travelers amongst these parts; how can I be sure that you are who you say you are and not some demon disguised to lure me and my family into your clutches?"

Sakura hid her surprise; so demons were a common thing in this land. If those odd snakes she had seen before were common here then the farmer had cause to worry.

She extended her arms in front of her, "I am in no condition to trick anyone; I have come a long way and haven't eaten in days. If you would only…"

Another face joined the farmers at the door, several feet down.

"Ah, daddy, look at the lady's hair! It's like flowers! And she's wearing funny clothes! Daddy, can she share our food? She looks hungry." The little girl said quickly, not stopping to take a breath.

Sakura stared at her, amused, while the girl's father sputtered and tried to push her back but the girl, around six or seven, wouldn't let him push her out of eyesight.

"Daddy!" She wined, fighting at his arms, "Mommy would have let the lady in!!"

Her father quieted then glanced at Sakura before sighing and opening the door wider, "If she turns out to be a demon enchantress it'll be your fault Mikoto-chi. Come in Haruno-san, you might as well share our dinner, although I'm afraid that it isn't very good, I'm not much of a cook."

Cautiously, Sakura took in the house, seeing that she was in a large room with only one door in the far wall. There was a kitchen, small table to dine on and a large fireplace. In one corner were two pads. One was occupied by a small boy with a bandaged head. He pushed himself up with one arm and glared sullenly at her as she knelt at the table laden with food. The farmer walked to a cupboard and came back with a bowl for her while the little girl sat across from her, smiling widely.

"My name is Mikoto, what's yours?" The girl asked, playing with her chopsticks.

"It is Haruno, Sakura." Sakura answered quickly, staring at the rice the farmer was putting into her bowl topped with some pain meat and sauce.

He set it before her with a weary look she barely noticed before she began to devour her food.

Suddenly Sakura realized that Mikoto was still talking to her, "My daddy's name is Noi and my brother's name is Daisuya. My mommy was called Ikidi but she died awhile ago; de-"

"Mikoto," Noi chided her, "You do not need to tell every stranger our family story. I'm sure Haruno-san is too tired to talk to a hyper little girl; be quiet while she eats."

Mikoto pouted but quieted, finishing what was left in her bowl. Relieved, Sakura quickly finished her bowl then guiltily asked Noi for seconds. He again filled her bowl while Sakura took this time to take huge gulps from the cup of water that she had just noticed by her elbow. After she finished her second bowl Sakura glanced at the boy in the corner, ignoring his glare.

"I can heal your son, if you wish." Sakura offered, "I know that you may not trust me but I feel obligated to repay your kindness."

The man frowned then glanced at his son, "Well, I suppose since you ate at my table and didn't attack me, I can let you see to my son."

Nodding, Sakura rose and walked over to the boy. He examined her critically, drawing back into the wall.

"I won't hurt you." She murmered to him, stretching out an arm and taking the bandage in her hands.

The boy's eyes widened in alarm but he said nothing as Sakura unwrapped the bandage and examined the cut. But when she began to heal it with her chakra he jerked back and she felt Noi gasp behind her and push her out from in front of the boy.

"Demon! Witch!" Noi shot out, clutching a sobbing son to his chest, "Leave! You will not have my son!"

"What? I o-on-" Sakura stuttered out, her hands in front of her chest.

"Leave! Now! Mikoto, come here!"

Mikoto ,who was behind Sakura, had been watching the spectacle with wide eyes and had been frozen in place by her father's wrath. "B-but, daddy, Sakura-chi is good, r-"

"Mikoto!" Mikoto jumped and ran quickly to her father, giving Sakura a wide berth.

Sakura stared at the cowering family in front of her with shock. She backed away under Noi's accusing and frightened glare, glancing at Mikoto's frightened face once more before turning and running out of the house.

Somewhere in the forest, Sakura stopped running and dropped to the ground, running her fingers through her hair then grimacing. Her hair was so gross… all brittle and full of little grains of salt.

Then she sighed, "What was that?"

She had only been using a little healing jutsu, nothing anyone would be afraid of as violently as Noi's family had been. Maybe this country didn't use chakra as Sakura's did. But that was so… Sakura searched for the word, unthinkable. Chakra was a huge part of her life, how could a whole country be unaware of it? And it had hurt, to be regarded as a demon; no wonder Naruto had grown up so weird.

Then Sakura looked up, gasping. There was something in the direction Sesshoumaru had gone. A sort of burst of chakra, as if there was a fight. She got to her feet and leapt to the trees; maybe there was chakra in this land after all.

It wasn't too far away and Sakura was almost there when she felt another large burst of chakra. Speeding up, she burst out of the trees to find a large compound surrounded by trees. Then that name she had heard earlier rang out.

"Naraku!"

She was about to jump forward when she started to cough violently. Some sort of poison…. Quickly, she sorted the poison out of her system, and filtered her air. Now that she noticed it, there was sort of a mist hanging in the air; it must be the poison…. Whoever had created must been immune somehow. Shaking her head to clear it, she jumped to the roof of the surrounding wall of the compound and crawled to the top like a spider just as another yell rang out followed by a burst of chakra.

"Take this… cutting wind!" From within the courtyard of the compound there was a roar and then a splatter.

Sakura peeked out over the sloped roof. There was that man she had seen earlier, shedding pieces of what looked like flesh, his sword raised in front of him. The other men looked similar to Sesshoumaru but with a few differences like he had ears and even a tail. Sakura, shocked at the dog parts on a man but pushing it aside, studied the other man. Or at least part of him was a man; the rest looked like a bunch of those flying snakes from before mashed together with some insect parts thrown in. He looked battered. Obviously that 'Cutting wind', which was most likely a wind jutsu, had been aimed at him.

"Sesshoumaru." The dog man breathed.

"Heh, isn't it ironic, Naraku?" Sesshoumaru asked the glob of man, "the bits of your flesh wrapped around me… served as a barrier against Inuyasha's cutting wind."

Sakura studied the man more intently; so that was Naraku…. Then she was distracted from the scene as she heard a small gasp. She looked up to see the woman floating on an overlarge feather. It was the woman from before.

"How are you breathing, the miasma of this place surely should have killed you by now. You don't look like a demon…" The woman mused, holding a fan to her chest.

"Kugura! What is it that you have found?!" It was Naraku's voice, probably.

"Only a pest!" She called back.

"Then terminate it!"

The woman frowned at the voice and turned toward Sakura, "Orders are orders." She whipped back her fan and lashed it forward; with this movement, what looked like crescents of air sailed at Sakura.

She did a quick back flip over to the other side of the roof, now in plain sight of the three in the courtyard. The crescents slammed into the roof and tore out jagged chunks. Sakura, ignoring the insecurity of being out in the open, acted quickly.

She pushed off the roof, flipping over the woman and landing on the back of the feather, which, surprisingly, held her extra weight. With chakra to enhance her force, Sakura slammed her fist into the woman's neck. It wasn't enough to break it upon impact but it was certainly enough to send her flying into the courtyard. Kagura hit the ground which cracked under the force, sending out a large cloud of dust. Sakura winced; she hadn't meant to hit her that hard…

With the distraction gone, Sakura turned her attention to the three men and only just caught something Sesshoumaru had said.

"He is my prey." Then he lashed out with his sword and a wave of energy rose from it, tearing into Naraku. The other man (with a much larger sword) stood at his side.

So Naraku was the bad guy along with that woman, Kagura. Briefly Sakura wondered how she always ended up in the thick of things, even far from her home. Then the wave of air that Sesshoumaru had stirred up from the blast hit her and she coughed, increasing the chakra she used to filter her air.

A whirlwind of liquid rose into the air, surrounded by large bees, "Sesshoumaru-sama… I shall withdraw for today." It was Naraku's voice. Kagura's body from where it lay in the courtyard was gone, leaving a small crater.

A blast of death intent rose from Sesshoumaru, "You fool… you think you can escape from me?"

Weary of Sesshoumaru, Sakura leapt down to land in the crater she had made, a few feet behind the other man, Inuyasha.

Naraku continued to speak and the other two seemed to be ignoring her presence, or were to preoccupied to notice it.

"Kukuku Sesshoumaru-sama. Rather than transforming and chasing after me, it would be better to quickly go find your little girl companion…. Rin is right now… together with the one called Kohaku. The meaning of which… Inuyahsa… I'm sure you can imagine." Then the whirlwind disappeared.

Both men were silent then Inuyasha stiffened and whipped around, his sword almost cutting Sakura in two. As it was, it missed by two inches and Sakura, who had calculated the distance remained unaffected.

"When did you get here?!" He yelled, keeping the sword perilously to Sakura's face, "You're not one of Naraku's servants are you?"

"She's been following me for awhile now." Sesshoumaru remarked lowly.

Sakura shot him a glance, "I did not follow you. I only picked up the sense of a fight and came to investigate."

He ignored her, "And what is most peculiar is that you can breathe in the miasma of this place and survive…" Then he looked away, to where Naraku had disappeared.

Oddly, he began to rise, the fur growing and trailing around his form as he flew. Sakura stared on, openmouthed.

There was a voice, "Se, Sesshoumaru-sama, don't leave me behind…" It was that small man from before, in the clearing.

"Is he a prince or something?" She asked Inuyahsa.

"Something like that…" He growled out, "You're not here to kill me right?"

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, then I have something to deal with." He sheathed his sword (which fit into the regular sized scabbard) and strode over to the small man, stepping on his back (Sakura only just realized that he was barefoot).

The little man let out a squeak, "Deh, I… Inuyahsa!" Inuyahsa crouched down and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt.

"Hey, Jaken. Explain. What happened between Naraku and Sesshoumaru?"

"I'll never talk to some measly half-demon like you." Jaken shot back.

Inuyasha was about to raise his fist when Sakura stepped in, "I believe that I can explain; after all, I was there when it happened."

She stepped in closer, crouching next to him, "The little man was rude but that's no reason to hurt him like that." She said, addressing the raised fist.

Inuyasha glanced at her, "Hmph, me and Jaken go way back." He said in way of explanation.

But he sighed loudly and let Jaken drop to the ground, where he scrambled away quickly.

"What did he mean by half-demon?" Sakura asked, glancing at his odd ears and tail.

"You don't know?" He was shooting her a puzzled glance, as if she was dumb, "I'm half demon, half human. My mother was human, while my father…" He growled, "There's no time for this, tell me what you know."

She frowned but let the subject drop, "Apparently this Naraku guy stole away a 'little human girl' named Rin from Sesshoumaru and probably made his way here to get revenge."

"What's with the probably! Do you know or not?"

"Well, this is all second hand knowledge and guesses, I thought you would know that by the 'probably'." He glared at her and stood.

"Whatever, I have to go, Jaken you can follow me if you want; Sesshoumaru is going where I am so you can meet him there." He began to run out the courtyard.

"Wait!" Sakura called out, running to catch up.

"What," He glanced back at her, "You're following me too?"

She was silent, "I have no where else to go."

His face scrunched up in confusion, "Well, fine, but I don't think you can keep up."

Grinning at him, Sakura dashed to the door of the courtyard, a blur, "I think I'll manage."

**Erm… I'm not very satisfied with this update but instead of picking at it like I usually do I just let it be; it had been way too long since my last update. **

**Tell me what you think, I would to hear if you liked this chapter or not… it was oddly weird for me to write it, fun though. **

**Zesty**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the late update… Sorry everyone, especially when I've started to get reviews for this thing. And I have a question for you all; should I move this into the crossover section? I think I should perhaps. What do you guys think? And eh, Inuyasha doesn't have a tail.**

**Reviews**

**SSHaruno: Thank you! I'll try really hard to raise it to your expectations (also to mine) and make it better.**

**musicmiss18: Thanks, I was trying really hard to keep Sesshoumaru in character. He's kind of confusing to me….**

**shadow-binder: Thank you, I hope this update is good as well ^^**

**SB01: Yeah, Kagome and Sakura will get along mostly. And Sakura is going to become pretty violent with both Inuyasha and Miroku. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**Shadows of Darkness: Thank you, you really raised my confidence. Yeah, sorry about the months long wait; at least this one is out quicker…**

**yuchi1994: Thank you for reviewing and I hope this update was out quickly enough for you!**

**aznkitty180: Thank you!! I'm not sure about the pairings, mostly likely there will be a little Sakura Inuyasha, maybe a tiny Sesshoumaru too. But overall, even if there are pairings they won't take the story over; it won't just be about Sakura's and so so's relationship, if that makes sense. Most likely not Sasuke but there will be some friendship fluff. A little Naruto and Sakura. **

**VALLED: Thank you for reviewing!**

**Miss Chocolat: Of course you'll get more action, and (hopefully) quicker updates. **

**NinjaFoodLover: ah no, I messed up after seeing so many chibi pictures of Inuyasha with a tail no I just automatically see him that way… sorry. **

**Solemly-sworn-up-to-no-good: Here it is! (Finally)**

**Nessa671: Sorry, it took forever to update. **

Inuyasha led Sakura and a trailing Jakon (Who's legs were too short to be able to keep up properly) in a straight line through the forest, heading to something that he, only, was able to sense. Well, that was a lie, Sakura could sense a fight up ahead but the use of chakra was so insignificant that it was hard to pinpoint exactly where the main fight was and she was too glad that there was chakra at all in this land to concentrate well enough. With a glance at his ears (she still couldn't really come to terms with them. Kiba had been a bit doggish but this was just… weird) she thought that maybe, like Kiba, Inuyasha had an extreme sense of smell. She sniffed experimentally; nothing, maybe a bit of blood and the smell of something disgusting and the regular smell of the forest, but nothing else.

Then she began to hear the sounds of the fight. Something inhuman, like the sounds those snakes had made; kind of like raspy growls. There were also human voices.

"Lady Kogame!" It was a male's voice.

Then the scene came into view. Inuyasha leapt immediately to the girl's rescue to save her from a group of what Sakura now knew to be demons.

"Sankontessou!" He had only used his claws but with one swipe he had cut through the whole cluster, bits of demon flesh flying everywhere.

"I…Inuyasha!" The girl gasped out. The girl was black haired and dressed in an odd skirt and shirt. She looked like a civilian, with undeveloped muscles and no weapons.

Sakura hung back, not wanted to intrude.

"Kagome, wasn't Kohaku around here!?" Inuyasha asked quickly.

Sakura connected the dots; Kohaku… the boy that Naraku said had the human girl, Rin. She glanced around, Jaken was gone.

"We can still make it! The shikon fragment isn't far away!" The girl said just as quickly, walking closer to Inuyasha.

He bent and Kagome climbed on his back; Sakura guessed that Kagome was to guide him but she was too slow to be able to keep up with his speed. There was a sound above them.

"Inuyahsa…" It was a woman's voice. Sakura looked up to see the woman perched on a flying and flame wreathed cat. She took it in without protest; she just had to except that the things in this land were exceptional, like flying men, cats, and the demons that were similarly flying around the whole area. It was obviously a normal sight for Inuyasha who answered to the woman familiarly.

"We'll go ahead! It seems we had better rush!" Then he leapt away.

Sakura began to follow, punching through any demon's head that came close to her. Then she broke out of cluster of demons and caught up slightly to hear what the two in front of her were saying.

"The girl Kohaku-kun took away was… with Sesshoumaru?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. That Sesshoumaru who considers mere human to be nothing but insects, would take a human kid with him is unbelievable but… whatever happened it's a bad combination." Sakura noticed that Inuyasha and Kagome didn't address Sesshoumaru as 'Sama' and pondered on it. She also stored away the big difference between humans and demons; humans were looked down upon while demons were feared?

Maybe those two were familiar with Sesshoumaru? Inuyasha did look similar to him, maybe he was his relative. A brother or cousin maybe…. But from what she noticed, Sesshoumaru was completely demon and Inuyasha was only half… hmm…. Inuyahsa continued:

"Most likely Naraku would have planted a suggestion in Kohaku. To kill the hostage. Then Sesshoumaru would be unlikely to spare a subordinate of Naraku's, who made sport of him. Sesshoumaru will kill Kohaku."

Kagome finished his thought, "If Sango-chan's brother was actually killed by your brother, then…"

"Whatever happens, its plain that it will cause a bad experience for everyone."

"Unless we catch up with Kohaku-kun before Sesshoumaru…" Kagome's voice began to fill with dread.

"I know…" Inuyasha answered, speeding up until Sakura had to work to keep up with him; he was as powerful as Naruto.

Sakura began to tie the situation together. So, this Kohaku was a slave of Naraku's and was being controlled by him. And he was also the brother of a mutual friend and they didn't want to kill him even if he ended up killing that Rin girl. But Sesshoumaru had no such qualms. Rin seemed very important to him, though he tried to hide it, even from himself it seemed. Also, Inuyasha was Sesshoumaru's brother. But they didn't seem so close…. This Naraku was stirring up a lot of trouble amongst two pretty powerful men; it was like playing with fire.

Then she caught herself; she was trying to get tied up in problems again. That was why she left Konoha, right? She thought back, no, that wasn't it. She had felt out of place there, like she didn't belong. Sakura glanced at Inuyasha and the girl on his back; maybe she could fit in here, if they would let her. She could actually make a difference and not be restricted by baggage and possessive, stronger, teammates. It felt as if she had leapt out of the big pond where she was a small fish into a smaller one with even tinnier fish.

She laughed dryly; some would call that cheating. Then the laughter died in her throat at the sight before her. A little boy was sitting over an unconscious girl, a chained sickle raised. Behind him was Sesshoumaru, watching silently. She panicked slightly, glancing over at Inuyasha; they weren't going to make it, not at that speed. The boy, noticing that Sesshoumaru was right behind him, got up and raised the sickle.

"Oh-ho… you plan to oppose me, huh…" Sesshoumaru raised a clawed and marked hand.

Sakura pushed chakra into her feet and dashed ahead, appearing in the middle of Sesshoumaru and Kohaku just as Sesshoumaru spoke.

Noticing Sakura he said, "Ah, you again… so you are following me and are protecting the boy… you are Naraku's servant after all. No matter, I will kill you both with one strike."

Sakura noticed a movement at her back and ducked, but Kohaku's sickle never struck.

"Kohaku! What are you doing, bastard!" Inuyasha yelled then there was a rustle of clothes and the sound of a punch.

Straightening up, she glanced around to see Kohaku reeling from Inuyasha's punch. He landed in the grass heavily while Kagome ran to the unconscious Rin. Sakura glanced at Sesshoumaru, he had no reaction but he had lowered his arm.

"It's okay, she's… just fainted that's all." Kagome said behind her, talking about Rin.

Sakura glanced behind to asses the girl with herself; Kagome was right, the girl was fine, she must have fainted from stress, from a lack of oxygen in her brain. She returned her attention to the two brothers, or half brothers, now that she thought about it.

"You heard what she said, Sesshoumaru. So don't touch Kohaku." Inuyasha ordered, standing in between Sesshoumaru and herself, Kohaku still sprawled to the side, behind Sakura.

"You're wasting your time, Inuyasha. Even if you protect him…" Then Kohaku stood up, "It seems that kid wants to be caught by my claws, no matter what."

Sakura spoke for the first time, "I'll distract Kohaku. He will get to neither Rin nor Sesshoumaru." And then she turned and blocked Kohaku's sickle with a kunai, which he had thrown while she was talking.

"Damn." Inuyasha growled, clutching his sword.

Sakura's eyes widened as the sickle fell to the ground; Sesshoumaru had moved. Time slowed as he moved between her and Kohaku, so close she felt the fur draped across his back on her bare leg. Unintentionally, she shivered. With his clawed hand wrapped around Kohaku's neck, Sesshoumaru glanced at her over his shoulder.

"To fend off the kid's weapon… you must not be Naraku's servant after all. Instead it seems that Inuyasha has gained another human companion." He glanced at Inuyasha, "You really do need to stop that habit."

"What the fuck are you gibbering on about? Let go of him or I'll rip you apart, you bastard!" Inuyasha responded vehemently.

Sakura whipped the kunai she had used to block Kohaku's sickle up to the side of Sesshoumaru's neck, the shoulder without the fur. He was so much taller than her….

"Let him go… or you'll regret it!" She growled, pressing the edge of the blade into his skin.

"Hmph." Sesshoumaru's grip on Kohaku increased.

"Don't do it, Sesshoumaru…!" Kagome yelled.

A moment passed in which Kohaku didn't struggle at all and Sakura's couldn't see either's faces. Then, suddenly, Sesshoumaru let go and Kohaku fell to the ground. She withdrew the kunai and then she backed away to where Inuyasha stood, giving him space.

"Ah, you're awake!" She heard Kagome yell.

When Sakura looked over, the little girl was sitting up, eyes wide open.

"Ah…" She said, "Sesshoumaru-sama!" Then Rin seemed to notice Kohaku, sitting at Sesshoumaru's feet.

"Kohaku…" Rin said not unfondly. Then Kohaku collected his weapon and ran off into the trees.

Sesshoumaru remained where he was, silent. A woosh of air ran through the clearing and the next thing Sakura saw was that large white feather in the air with Kagura and Kohaku sitting upon it.

"Kagura…" Inuyasha murmured.

"Didn't I knock her out? I though she'd been out for hours, at the least." She murmured to herself, assessing Kagura's condition before she flew off. She was bleeding internally and in great pain but Naraku had still sent her out to get Kohaku… what a cruel man.

"Um," Kagome started and Sakura turned to look at her. She was facing Sesshoumaru's back, "Thank you… for forgiving Kohaku-kun…" She said a little nervously.

"You have my thanks as well." Sakura echoed, remembering her manners once again; it seemed that she was turning a little wild while she was on her own.

"That kid was trying to make me kill him." Sesshoumaru answered simply.

"Sesshoumaru you… noticed, huh." Inuyasha said lowly.

"You are right." Sakura said, glancing at the two, "He wasn't struggling at all, even when his body should have been convulsing from the lack of air."

Sesshoumaru ignored her, "It's only that I didn't want to fulfill Naraku's stupid expectation." Then he finally looked at Sakura, "Do not threaten me again, this Sesshoumaru will not tolerate it another time." He turned and walked away.

Uncowed, Sakura nodded, placing her kunai back in its pouch as Rin walked past her.

"Goodbye!" She called back.

"She's gone with him…" Kagome remarked, walking up to stand behind Inuyasha.

Sakura was staring at Sesshoumaru's retreating back when Kagome finally noticed her.

"Ah, Inuyasha, who is this?"

Sakura turned to see Inuyasha shrug his shoulders, "I dunno."

Kagome raised a fist and promptly hit Inuyasha over the head, "Idiot." She turned her gaze to Sakura.

"My name is Haruno, Sakura." Sakura said at her questioning glance, "I accompanied Inuyasha-san because, well, honestly, I had no other choice."

"What the hell does that mean?" Inuyasha growled, rubbing at his head, "You said that before too."

Frowning at him, Sakura continued, "I have no idea where I am. I passed out in the ocean of my land and ended up here. I'm completely lost and am in need of shelter and food. If you would help me get to a town I would be immensely grateful. And maybe would you answer some of my questions?"

"Why the hell should I help you?" Inuyasha growled only to get hit on his head once again, this time with enough force to send him to the ground.

"Of course we'll help you, you say you don't remember anything?" Kagome said, believing her story.

Sakura was relieved, she wasn't sure that they would believe her; her story was far fetched, after all, who could survive being passed out in the ocean?

She shook her head at the question, "No, I-"

Sakura was interrupted when there was a rush of air and a large cat landed next to them, the woman from before on its back.

"Sango…" Kagome murmured. So this was Kohaku's sister.

She got off and Sakura noticed that the woman had an odd shaped device on her back. It looked like a toy the kids in Konoha played with. She wondered how someone could use it as a weapon…

Sango glanced around, frowning when she saw no one, "Kohaku's not here?"

"No." Kagome answered, frowning, "He ran off earlier."

"I see…" Sango said, disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Sango-chan. We couldn't stop him…" Kagome said sorrowfully, looking down.

Sakura glanced at Sango and something in her expression struck at her heart. The situation between Kohaku and Sango was almost the same as the on between her and Sasuke. Though Sasuke had left on his own violation and hadn't been controlled…. She shook her head to get rid of her self pity.

"It can't be helped." Sango said, raising an arm to her chest. She looked away, deep in her own thoughts.

"Sango, this is Haruno, Sakura. She's had lost her memory and needs to find a village." Kagome said, introducing Sakura.

"It's nice to meet you and I haven't lost my memory." Sakura interrupted, "I just have no idea where I am."

Sango nodded benignly, "Alright. You can come with us. Watch out for Miroku though."

"Who's Miroku?" Right on cue, a man came running out of the trees.

He stopped, gasping for breath, "Sango, I didn't see why you had to push me of Kialala. I was merel-" He had straightened up and caught sight of Sakura.

Surprised, Sakura was frozen when he appeared in front of her and grabbed a hold of both her hands.

"You are quite beautiful and your hair… is so unique." Shell shocked Sakura could only stare as he continued on, "Will you… bare my children?"

With a growl, her anger caught a hold of her brain and reasoning, and in a mirror of what Kagome had done to Inuyasha; hit him across the head and rip her hands out of his.

"No way."

Miroku rubbed the red spot on his forehead, "You are sure-" He was cut of as Sango's boomerang hit the back of his head.

"Pig." She muttered, apparently already in good spirits.

Losing track of her anger, Sakura smiled, unnoticed by the bickering two. She hadn't heard the comforting sound of arguing like this ever since she left Konoha. Then she glanced at the fist that had hit Miroku, curling and uncurling her black covered fingers. It had been a while since she had to hold her chakra back in a punch.

"Please forgive Sango for her unlady like actions; what is your name, beautiful maiden?"

"Her name is Sakura, you lady's man. Stop bothering her." Inuyasha cut in, walking past, "I want to check out the castle before we leave. Hurry up already."

The three of them all gave each other looks and sighed, beginning to follow Inuyasha. Sakura was about to walk forward when she noticed that last member of the group; a small child with the ears and tail of a fox. He was staring up at her with wide eyes, his tail clutched to his chest and was the cutest thing Sakura had ever seen. She smiled at him as she stepped forward, making him blush. He ran to catch up to her.

"Hey! Your name is Sakura-chan, right?"

She nodded, "What's yours? I don't think I heard it."

The boy pouted, "That's because everyone always forgets about me. My name is Shippo!"

"Nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of demon are you?"

He frowned at her, "I'm a fox demon. You're not one of those villagers who hates all demons are you?"

Sakura laughed, "No way! My bes- I mean, my teammate holds a demon in him. There is no way I can hate demons if I know that all aren't necessarily evil." She leaned close to him, "I'm not too sure about Inuyasha though… I don't think that he is very good."

Shippo giggled, "No he's not- ow!"

While Shippo had been speaking Inuyasha had stomped his way over to him and knocked him over with one foot.

"I can hear you, you know! And you," He glowered at Sakura, "Just shut up and keep walking so we can get to the castle without your chattering!"

She sneered into his face, "Jerk. I'll meet you there then if I'm so in the way."

Sakura leapt into the trees and quickly pulled ahead of the group who was walking at a slow pace. When she arrived at the castle, she had worn her anger down a little in the sprint and now she had time to examine the place without anyone else interfering.

What a load of crap; she could care less about the castle. Might as well as take a nap and wait for the others. When she had settled herself in a corner of the castle's surrounding wall, Sakura heard a noise, footsteps. It was a woman, with long, dark hair and a long bow on her back. She was dressed in a Kimono like that of the priestesses Sakura had read of.

Sakura ignored her as she passed her on her way out. The woman only gave Sakura a small glance out of the corner of her eye before disappearing out the large gates, moving as silently and as fluidly as a ghost.

Pondering only a moment on the strange appearance, Sakura curled into sleep, as always, with one hand curled into a fist.

**It's not all that long but, hey, I got it out there. (I took a day off from school to a. start feeling better and b. update some of my stories). Mm, I'd appreciate feedback but if you're shy, don't force yourself :P.**

**Zesty**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, because the traffic for this story has continued despite my lack of updates, I decided I'm going to update. Without betaing it. It will be a bit rough but it will take time to get it edited. Sorry for making everyone wait so long. **

Sakura woke slowly to the sound of voices. She tensed, ready to leap up in a defensive stance, but then realized the voices belonged to her new companions.

"Damn Naraku," Inuyasha growled, sounding frustrated, "he's not going to return to the castle is he?"

Sakura kept her eyes closed as she flexed her muscles, trying to work out the aches that developed during her nap against the castle wall. She moved her tongue roughly around her dry mouth, grimacing at the bad taste. She hadn't brushed her teeth in what seemed a long time. Weeks even.

"Seems likely," answered a slightly unfamiliar voice, "since Inuyasha can cut the barrier even if Naraku moved the castle it wouldn't make any difference."

Sakura shifted through faces of the group until she remembered the voice belonged to the lecherous male monk, Miroku. She took a moment to ponder on the barrier they spoke of before she the image of the man who presumably owned the empty castle came unbidden to her mind. With long black hair and eyes that could kill, the love struck girls from Konoha would say Naraku looked achingly handsome. Those girls hadn't seen him turn to an odd glob of demon parts and try to eat Inuyasha and his half brother Sesshomaru. Even Sakura, battle hardened at the sight of grotesque sights, had shuddered at the sight.

"Shit!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his voice rumbling with impatience, "Right now I might be able to rip apart that bastard, only…"

She sighed and brought a hand to her face, wiping away dried drool out of one corner of her mouth and rubbing her eyes open. The group of five, six counting the odd flying cat, stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking up at the castle. Inuyasha turned sharply as Sakura pushed herself up.

"You awake sleepy head?" he asked harshly.

Sakura ignored him, turning to pop her back.

"Don't be rude Inuyasha," Kagome chided, annoyed.

Sakura slowly walked to stand a few feet from them, too uncomfortable to stand among them. They all kept staring at her as if she was a feral animal. She supposed the looks were warranted, what with her salt encrusted clothes and hair. She locked eyes with Shippo and despite the apprehension on his face he smiled widely. She lifted the corners of her mouth in the semblance of a smile and looked away.

"I'm guessing you didn't find what you were looking for," Sakura said wryly as a way of breaking the silence.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and responded sarcastically, "How did you figure that one dumbsh-"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, silencing him. She turned to Sakura, smiling apologetically, "Sorry about him, he can be a brute sometimes."

Inuyasha scowled and looked away, crossing his arms.

"I'm fine with it," Sakura said, trying to smooth things over, "people have done worse,"

The other woman, Sango, cut in, "So are we going to leave or just stand here talking until night fall?"

"Ah you're right," Kagome laughed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her head.

"Kirara," Sango called.

The cat walked up to her, vanishing behind a wall of flames. When the flames disappeared, the cat had become large again. Sakura wondered at the technique behind the transformation. The animal had to be some sort of summons. She wondered why it didn't speak.

Sango leapt gracefully onto Kirara's back.

"Well, I'm leaving now," she turned to face Kagome and said more gently, "Do you want to ride with me? I know you have to get back quickly."

"Yeah, thanks Sango!" Kagome exclaimed, smiling.

She turned to Inuyasha as she clambered on Kirara's back.

"Behave Inuyasha. Don't be a jerk," she ordered as one would talk to a dog.

"Hey I'm not a jerk!" Inuyasha exclaimed defensively, "Right Miroku?"

Miroku looked pointedly away.

"Let's go Kirara," Sango yelled.

Kirara leapt into the air at her commanded, her flaming paws clawing at the air as if she was running through it. The trio gained height and momentum and soon they were specks on the horizon.

"Damn it," Inuyasha growled, "Well let's get going! It'll take awhile to get back at Miroku's pace."

"Slowest wins the race," Miroku replied sagely, walking past Sakura to the entrance.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Inuyasha accused as he followed.

"Wait for me Inuyasha!" Shippo cried, running past Sakura. He smiled as he caught her gaze before leaping to Inuyasha's shoulder and grabbing his hair to keep balance.

"Wait are you doing, you runt?" Inuyasha growled not unkindly.

Shippo didn't respond instead he turned to smile brightly at Sakura. He waved his hand in the universal sign telling her to hurry up and follow. Sakura tried to smile back but Shippo and Inuyasha brought on thoughts of Naruto. He would always smile when he looked at her. His face appeared in her mind and she felt a sharp pang of regret. She missed Naruto more than she thought she would. Even after he stopped smiling at her, stopped asking her out for ramen, stopped being her friend, she still wanted him back.

"_Hey Naruto, wait up!" Sakura called, waving her hand over the crowd as she ran to catch up. _

_He turned and Sakura thought she saw a flash of disappointment on his face before he smiled. _

"_Oh, hey Sakura," he said distractedly as she caught up with him. _

_Feeling awkward, Sakura rubbed the back of her head, trying to remember the reason she needed to talk to him. Oh yeah, she had free time and wanted to eat lunch with him. She hadn't seen Naruto since Sasuke returned, spending most of her time acclimating Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo to Konoha. Under Tsunade's orders she was also doing subtle medical scans on them whenever they were caught off guard. Tsunade wanted a full report on anything Sakura could find out about them. Due to the frequent fights between Karin and Suigetsu, her week had not been pleasant. _

"_Um, I have free time so do you want to-" she started, feeling uncharacteristically shy._

_Naruto interrupted, looking away from her, "Sorry Sakura but I have something to do right now."_

"_Oh," she said softly, unable to hide the disappointment from her voice. _

_He looked at her and she looked away, trying not to let him see the hurt on her face. He really probably had something to do. She would just inconvenience him by pressing the point. _

"_Uh, never mind then, I'll just get some training in instead," she said quickly, avoiding eye contact, "See you around."_

_She brushed past him._

"_Wait," Naruto said urgently, grabbing her arm, "I need to…" he trailed off._

_Sakura didn't turn her head so he wouldn't see her deep frown. _

"_You have to be somewhere, right?" she said gently, "You'll be late."_

"_Oh, right," he said, caught off guard, letting go of her arm._

_Sakura rushed off, barely seeing the people around her._

Sakura shook her head, trying to banish the unpleasant memory. She realized the group was almost out of eyesight and sprinted to catch up. She slowed to match Miroku's pace once she was level with him. He looked at her.

"Where are we going?" she asked, making eye contact. His eyes were a really pretty dark brown with little golden flecks in the middle.

"No one told you?" he asked, looking surprised, "We're going to a small village south of here. It's our headquarters of sorts."

Sakura nodded, looking away and keeping her silence. She wanted to ask a ton of questions about the group and country but she held her tongue, afraid of looking ignorant. Inuyasha, who strode ahead of them, lead them back down the mountain, toward the area Sakura just came from.

Inuyasha grumbled the whole way down, often yelling back at them to hurry up. Sakura, though fed up with his fidgeting, felt that she wanted to go at a faster pace as well. She wasn't used to walking languidly as Miroku and her legs itched with the need to leap into the tree tops. After an hour or so of ignoring Inuyasha and her own impatience she stopped and turned to Miroku.

"I'll carry you," she said bluntly.

"What?" Miroku asked, astonished, stopping with her.

"Inuyasha's right, it'll take ages to get anywhere at this pace. I can match Inuyasha's sprint even with you on my back," Sakura explained matter-of-fact, trying to cover up her awkwardness, "So, get on."

She bent slightly on the knee and turned so her back faced him. When he didn't immediately do as she asked she looked at him impatiently.

"Are you sure you hold me?" he asked hesitantly, eying her.

"Yes," she said quickly, "just get on."

"Okay," he said, smiling widely as he put his arms around her neck.

Sakura roughly grabbed his legs and swung them up to her waist. She straightened up and Miroku scrambled to tighten his grip on her shoulders. The warm weight on her back wasn't heavy, not compared to Naruto who was more than 200 pounds of muscle. She didn't even need to use chakra.

"Whoa," he exclaimed, "more of a warning next time,"

"Sorry," she said distractedly as she scanned the tree line for a good branch.

She bent her knees and jumped to a branch, trying to ignore Miroku's exclamation of surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding a little frantic as she began hop branch to branch.

"This is faster than just running," she explained, beginning to feel more at ease with trees surrounding her, "its how I always travel."

"Well, we are all allowed our differences," he said benignly.

She smiled slightly at his lame response. Seeing Inuyasha ahead, she slowed her pace and landed on a branch in front of him. He stopped walking and looked up at them.

"Miroku's agreed to let me carry him," she said simply, "Feel free to go as fast as you like."

"Hell yeah!" Inuyasha yelled, grinning fiercely, "You better be able to keep up girly or I'm leaving you guys behind."

Shippo scrambled to get a better hold as Inuyasha bent at the knee and shot forward. He leapt spot to spot as she did, but keeping to the ground. Sakura rolled her eyes at his back.

"Hold on," she warned Miroku, who tightened his grip again.

She crouched low and charged chakra to her legs before catapulting high into the trees. She grinned with pleasure as the air rushed through her hair. They began to descend and she broke out laughing as Miroku grabbed her shoulders in a death grip. She landed lightly on a branch and fed chakra to her legs before jumping to the next, moving so fast the trees became a blur. Sakura easily caught up to Inuyasha and had to slow her pace slightly to match his.

They traveled like this in silence for the good part of a day. Just as Sakura's stomach was protesting at the lack of food, Inuyasha slowed as they approached a village. He stopped completely once they were on the outskirts. Sakura landed next to him, gently letting go of Miroku. He stumbled and she had to steady him as he stretched his legs.

The village was medium sized and poor, at least to Sakura's standards. Farms surrounded it and most of the village's people were finishing up their work in the setting sun's light. She looked apprehensively at Miroku. This farm village was their headquarters?

"Well, we're here," Inuyasha said impatiently, striding forward into the village.

Sakura slowly followed, asking herself what she had gotten herself into.

**Sorry it's so short, I just wanted to get an update out. Review if you have anything to say.**

**Zesty**

**Crystal-Wolf-Guardain: Thanks!**

**InnerCookie: Thank you.**

**Sakura Haruno554: here's what happens next ;)**

**AnimaniacXOX: Okay, here's an update.**

**Cerridwen-Maiden: Thanks, I updated :D**

**CandyCane460: Thank you, there probably will be some SakuraxSasuke. **

**CloudEnvyKunoichi: Thanks, now you have to love me :D**

**CrystalHeart27: Thanks, I only right Sakura fics so…**

**Nayuta: I think I will have Sakura and Sesshomaru meet up again. I think the pairing would be fun.**

**Angel897: Thanks, here is more.**

**Madame Yuko: Yeah most are crap. That's part of the reason why I started this. **

**xxDarkCherryBlossomSakuraxx: Kay :) **

**Dark Neko 4000: Well, you'll have to find out**

**Yuki san1: Thanks!**

**-SmilingArtist-: Sesssaku coming up! **

**Siah Yasana: Thanks, I wasn't really trying to be funny though :]**

**Me: Thanks, your wish will be granted ;)**

**Innocentsful: Updated!**

**W: Well, Sakura left Konoha because she was feeling confused and abandoned. As I write the story you'll find out what happened in flashbacks. Probably not with Sasuke but there will defiantly be Sesshomaru. **

**Superfan8:Thanks.**

**Valled: Thanks. :]**

**FallIntoAHellCalledLove: Thanks and there will probably will be several pairings but I'm not sure who she'll end up with. **

**MidnightShadow: Thanks.**

**Miss Chocolat: Ah I haven't updated in a long time, sorry.**

**Harteramo: Thank you.**

**Yuchi1994: Thanks, I'll try to update soon again.**

**NinjaFoodLover: Yeah, they probably will think she's crazy.**

**Unico Luna Angelo: Yep will do!**


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